1. Field
The present disclosure relates to spray formulations, especially pesticidal formulations of the sort which may be diluted with water to form a sprayable preparation, for example, a pressure pack (“aerosol”) preparation or a spray, particularly an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray for domestic, horticultural, agricultural, environmental, or industrial use. In particular, the present disclosure relates to pesticidal formulations devoid of Volatile Organic Compounds.
2. Description of Related Art
Water-based sprays are advantageous because they cost less than oil-based sprays and are often less toxic to mammals. However, particularly when the ambient temperature is high, the water in the spray droplets evaporates and the droplets become smaller and drift more readily from the area being sprayed. The size of the droplets is frequently specially chosen to suit the application, for example to maximize droplet adherence to flying insects or adherence to plant foliage, to increase bio-availability, or to control the size of the area being sprayed and the delivery rate per square meter; such care is pointless if the spray droplets change size, possibly unpredictably, following spraying.
Water-in-oil emulsions are typically used in water-based sprays due to the low solubility of most pesticides in water. Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) regulations, however, have limited the compounds that are available to formulate water-in-oil emulsions suitable for pesticide applications. Thus, there is a significant need to develop further pesticidal formulations with low VOC content.
Chemical pesticides are of critical importance in maintaining control of diseases spread by mosquitoes and other insects, particularly in developing countries. However, there is growing resistance to the most commonly used chemical pesticides, including pyrethroids, DDT, carbamates, and organophosphates. Thus, it is critical to develop pesticidal formulations that kill more efficiently to reduce formation of resistance in these disease-carrying pests.
The solution to this technical problem is provided by the embodiments characterized in the claims.